Asgard
by PregnancyandBabies
Summary: Gudrun and Sif are both pregnant while the men battke in Vanaheim
1. Sif

"...My lady?"

The servant's voice brought Sif back to the present.

"I... uh, tell them to go on without me. I'm sure they'll be fine."

The servant looked shocked, and Sif would comment on it, except she was a little shocked herself at her own decision. She had, after all, never backed away from a fight before now. She continued.

"The child... I can't risk it. They will understand, Thor will certainly understand. Now go on, and close your mouth before you start catching flies."

The servant gave a quick bow and hurried off. Once Sif had the privacy of only her own company, she sighed and cradled the small bump that was starting to form. She wasn't showing much, but she knew it wouldn't stay that way for long, after all, only a couple of weeks ago, she wasn't showing at all – the child was growing fast. And now she could feel that and see that, after all, the proof of that child was there beneath her hand, well... there was no way she could risk going into a warzone.

She would never risk any harm coming to her child. She gently rubbed the bump as she let her mind wander. What would the child be like? She knew he or she would be big and strong, that much was evident already. Would they have golden hair? Sif hoped so: She had always valued her golden hair when she had it, although it seemed so much less important now... but if the child did have golden hair, it would look more like Thor: something that is certainly not a bad thing.

Sif suddenly felt a little queasy and went to lie down. She sighed, but in the end she had known that she would be weaker for a time when she and Thor decided to have a child. But, she was lending her strength to the child growing inside her, and in her mind, there was no better or nobler cause, so she could hardly complain about that.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off.

Knock, knock.

Sif groaned... maybe if she ignored the sound for long enough, it would go away. She tried hard to fall back into her dream again. She and Thor together, her large rounded belly pressed between them when suddenly, she felt a kick! She looked at Thor and knew he had to, for his eyes had light up-

Knock, knock, knock.

This time, Sif huffed out loud. She had really wanted to continue that dream.

Instead, she got up, and wrapped a gown around her. She pulled the door open with what was probably unnecessary force – so much so, that the servant who had been going to knock again stumbled forward.

"What?" She growled, glaring darkly.

"Uh... ma'am, you said to... uh... interrupt whatever you were doing when we... uh..."

"Just spit it out, already."

"News from Vanaheim! Letter from Thor! For you!" The servant thrust it into her hand and scurried off.

Okay, maybe she had been a little harsh on the poor servant.

She went back to sit on the bed, and gently caressed the bump while unfolding the small note.

"Hey, baby, look: we have a letter from your daddy! Shall we read it?" Sif decided to read the letter out loud, after all, if her baby couldn't hear its father's voice then at least it should be able to hear his words.

"My Dearest Lady,

Sorry for this short note, but I know you like to be updated, and I'd rather give you the truth than the official statement. I am fine, and as are Hogun and Fandral, but Volstagg has been severely wounded. As soon as we can find a safe location to open the Bifrost, he will be given over to the healers at the Palace.

The war is not going well: The Vanir's forces are decimated, and Asgard cannot bring more reinforcements without a war council, which could take weeks to set up. Fandral, Hogun and I will be leading the charge tomorrow,"

At that, Sif's voice broke – she should be there, by the Aesir, she should be there, she should have Thor's back... She stopped thinking about that and went on reading.

"...We are vastly outnumbered, but do not worry: We have fought worse odds.

I will return to you, and give my love to our unborn child,

Yours,

Thor."

Do not worry!? How could Sif not worry? The only time she did not worry about a fight was when she was there, and could do something about it! No... she was not sour that she was not there, after all, she was protecting the life of the child in her womb, and she would do so much more than simply sit back from a fight to that end, but why must Thor always go?

She held the parchment so tightly that deep, finger-shaped creases appeared in it.

What if Thor did die out there? What would she do without him? Who would take Asgard's throne? Loki? Her? Perhaps her unborn child would be thrust into kingship straight away, and there would be a regent for the first 16 years of it's life...

Sif shook her head, and looked down at her belly.

"Don't worry sweetheart: Your father **will** return to us. Do you know why? Because he has more motivation than ever before. He won't be fighting his way like a hurricane through those rebels for Asgard, or for me. No... He'll be fighting so he can come home to **you**."


	2. Gudrun

Gudrun sat on a bench in the courtyard of the palace. She wasn't royalty, but Volstagg had always done his best to make her feel like it, including arranging with Thor that she and the children could stay at the Palace when he was away fighting. It gave a certain comfort – not only because she was surrounded by beauty, after all, the palace was very aesthetically pleasing, but also because she was always one of the first to hear of any events that concerned Volstagg, the warriors three, Lady Sif or Thor and in all honesty, Volstagg spent about as much time with them as he did with her, if not more, so anything she heard about the rest of them usually applied to him too.

For example, she was among the first to find out that the Lady Sif was pregnant. It was in honour of that that she told Sif first of her new pregnancy. Gudrun had just found out that she was carrying Volstagg's fifth child, only a day or so after he had gone off to Vanaheim. Sif had been very happy to hear that Gudrun was pregnant only a few weeks later than her, as she knew that their children would find a trusted friend in each other. Sif had joked that all they needed now was for Hogun to find a woman, and that way the next generation of the warriors three would be born. When Gudrun had asked about Fandral, Sif laughed and said 'He probably has got somebody pregnant, somewhere, anyway – and if not, it won't be long before he does. He's not known for his common sense.' At that Gudrun had laughed properly, for the first time since Volstagg had left for Vanaheim.

Naturally, she was a happy woman, all smiles and giggles, but a lot of that came from the great joy she took in her family. When Volstagg was away, she always felt like he had taken part of her away with him. No, she shook her head, he didn't take a part of her away with him: He was a part of her. A part of her family, and a part of her heart, and when he was gone, she wasn't quite the same. He always came back to her, though, and that was what mattered.

She rubbed her belly. Her bump wasn't showing yet, but she could feel some marks on her skin from a previous pregnancy. She smiled as she ran her fingers over the small dents and ridges through her chiffon dress. Many women were self-conscious about those kind of marks, but not her. Of course, she had been at first, but when she revealed her concern to Volstagg, he simply smiled and kissed every single one of the lines and told her in no uncertain terms that he thought the lines were wonderful, because they represented the child she had carried for him and given him. Ever since then, she wore them as a badge of pride.

A young serving girl came into the courtyard, a little hesitantly. She remembered the young girl was called Alyssa. Not many nobility knew the staff by name, but Gudrun had always been able to get on with them well, and in turn, they respected her and always told her the snippets of news they had overheard.

"What is it, Alyssa? You know you don't have to be shy with me!" She smiled.

"My Lady-"

"Gudrun, please."

"Gudrun, ma'am. I have news on your husband. It's... not good."

Gudrun's heart froze.

"Is he...?"

"Alive, ma'am, but injured." Gudrun nodded, and took a deep breath. It was better than she had feared, worse than she had hoped.

The young girl continued. "He is to be transported back to the healers here, in perhaps a few hours, maybe a couple of days. We do not know."

"Thank you Alyssa, for telling me."

The girl gave a bow and headed back the way she had come.

Gudrun wrapped her arms around herself and the child just beginning to grow inside her, and let the tears flow freely. Of course, she should be used to this by now, after all, when she married a warrior, and not just any: one of the warriors three, the most famed in Asgard, well... she'd thought then she would have to be prepared for him to be injured, and fairly often. But, she could never quite prepare herself mentally or emotionally. Every time her beloved husband was injured, she felt her heart physically ache, as if it could actually feel the wounds inflicted on him.

But Volstagg was strong. He'd always come back to her, and this time was no different. She'd go to him in the healing room, and hold his hand when he arrived.

She would also inform him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not allowed to die before their unborn child had a chance to meet him.


End file.
